Manufacture of spectacle frame side pieces



Aug. 16, 1965 H. 1.. THORN ETAL MANUFACTURE OF SPECTACLE FRAME SIDE PIECES Original Filed May 8. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 w H \\\\\%w@\ &

Inventor;

HERBERT wA -ren a y g m V M I/Ml Attorney; I

Aug. 16, 1966 H. L. THORN ETAL MANUFACTURE OF SPECTACLE FRAME SIDE PIECES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 8. 1961 Inventor: HEREEM' 71/040 l/Abffe 604/404 y Wfi fi W Attorney;

United States Patent 3,266,119 MANUFACTURE OF SPECTACLE FRAME SIDE PIECES Herbert L. Thorn, Onslow Village, Guildford, Surrey, and Walter Conway, Guildford, Surrey, England, assignors to Optoplast Manufacturing Company Limited, and The Trident Optical Company Limited Original application May 8, 1961, Ser. No. 108,591, now Patent No. 3,155,763, dated Nov. 3, 1964. Divided and this application May 5, 1964, Ser. No. 365,004

Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 16, 1960,

17,199/60 3 Claims. (Cl. 29-20) This invention relates to the manufacture of side pieces for spectacle frames. The present application is a divisional of our application Serial No. 108,591, filed May 8, 1961, now US. Patent No. 3,155,763 issued November 3, 1964.

In a spectacle frame having hinged side pieces made of a plastic it is common to fix one member of each hinge to the side piece by rivets that pass completely through the side piece and so are visible on the face of the side piece remote from the hinge member. This is the outer face, and the visible ends of the rivets detract from the appearance of the side piece, and the hinge is not always firmly held, as the rivets may work loose.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved method of fixing a side piece hinge very securely in position.

It is common to reinforce a plastic side piece by a wire that extends longitudinally in it, and in making such a reinforced side piece it is usual to push the wire longitudinally into a blank from which the side piece is being shaped. The invention is concerned with such processes in which a reinforcing wire is introduced longitudinally into the blank. It consists in first forcing at least one element projecting from a hinge member and formed for engagement by a reinforcing wire int-o a side piece blank from one face to extend transversely to the center line of the blank but to terminate short of the opposite face of the side piece, and then introducing a reinforcing wire longitudinally into the blank to engage and hold the hinge member in position as well as to reinforce the side piece. The reinforcing wire is thus used for two purposes, and not only is the hinge member firmly held on the side piece but also the cost of manufacture is much reduced, since the engagement of the element or elements by the wire takes place when the wire is introduced into the side piece. Moreover, if, as is preferred, the element or elements do not extend from the hinge member to the opposite face of the side piece, the appearance of the side piece is improved.

The elements may be made separately from and fixed to the hinge member by riveting or otherwise or be integral parts to it.

Some examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the preferred side prece;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section on the line II-II in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line III--III in FIG- URE 2; and

FIGURES 4 and 5 are sections corresponding to FIG- URE 2 through two other side pieces.

The side piece 1 shown in FIGURE 1 is moulded from a plastic, contains a longitudinal reinforcing wire 2 and carries one member of a barrel hinge 4. This member includes a plate 3 which bears on the side piece, being let into a recess 8 in it, and which is formed with two holes.

3,266,119 Patented August 16, 1965 The wire 2 has a pointed leading end 5, a main length 6 of circular section and a flattened end 7. Two small plates 9, perpendicular to the plate 3, have rivet heads 10, the necks 11 of the rivets passing through holes in the plate 3, so that the plates 9 are fixed to the plate 3. The plates 9 are formed with holes through which the wire 2 passes and which are shaped as slots 12 to fit closely round the flattened parts 7 with central circular parts 13 to allow the circular part 6 to pass freely through. The plates 9 pass through one face of the blank but do not extend to the opposite face, and the centers of the slots 12 lie in the center line of the blank.

In manufacture of this side piece by the method of the invention a heated side-piece blank is put in the female part of a two-part mould in a side piercing machine. The hinge member 3 with the plates 9 riveted to it is held in a recess at one end of the male part of the mould; the mould is closed, the plates entering the heated and softened blank in the process and the hinge member partly entering the blank; and While the moulded blank is still soft during cooling, the wire 2 is pushed into it along the center line, the end 5 entering as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2. During this step the holes in the plates 9 act as guides for the wire, thus facilitating the accurate location of the wire in the sidepiece. This is an advantage, and another is that the wire is not weakened, as it is by drilling the holes necessary for rivetting.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 4, the end 14 of a hinge plate 3 is turned at right angles as a flange and formed with a hole through which the wire 2 passes.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 5 the hinge member is essentially only the barrel part 15 and a plate 16 extends into the side piece 2 from it to form the element formed with a hole through which the wire 2 passes.

Although it is preferred to make the fixing wire 2 pass through a hole in the element or each element, other means of engagement may be used; for example the wire may pass through a groove or open slot in one of the edges of the element and will still hold the hinge member firmly.

We claim:

1. A method of making a hinged side piece for a spectacle frame comprising the steps of forcing at least one element projecting from a hinged member and formed to engage a reinforcing wire into a side piece blank from one face to extend tranversely to the center line of the blank but to terminate short of the opposite face of the side piece blank, and introducing a reinforcing wire longitudinally into the blank and into engagement with said element to hold the hinge member in position as well as to reinforce the side piece.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the element projecting from the hinge member is forced into the blank during moulding of the blank to the shape of the side piece.

3. A method of making a hinged side piece for a spectacle frame comprising the steps of heating a side piece blank, forcing two plates projecting from a hinge member, each plate being formed with an opening for engagement by a reinforcing wire, into said heated blank from one face to extend transversely to the center line of the blank but to terminate short of the opposite face of the side piece blank with the centers of said openings in the center line of the blank, and while the blank is still hot forcing a reinforcing wire into the blank along the center line and through said openings.

No references cited.

RICHARD H. EANES, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF MAKING A HINGED SIDE PIECE FOR A SPECTACLE FRAME COMPRISING THE STEPS OF FORCING AT LEAST ONE ELEMENT PROJECTING FROM A HINGED MEMBER AND FORMED TO ENGAGE A REINFORCING WIRE INTO A SIDE PIECE BLANK FROM ONE FACE TO EXTEND TRANSVERSELY TO THE CENTER LINE OF THE BLANK BUT TO TERMINATE SHORT OF THE OPPOSITE FACE OF THE SIDE PIECE BLANK, AND INTRODUCING A REINFORCING WIRE LONGITUDINALLY INTO THE BLANK AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ELEMENT TO HOLD THE HINGE MEMBER IN POSITION AS WELL AS TO REINFORCE THE SIDE PIECE. 